1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera control system or the like which is suitable for use with, for example, a video camera having a panhead, such as a surveillance camera or a video conference system.
2. Description of Related Art
As a related art, there is a system which is capable of controlling an image pickup module (for example, zooming, focusing or exposure) of a camera from a computer via a communication medium such as RS-232C and is capable of controlling the panning and tilting attitudes of the camera with the camera mounted on a panhead. A camera control system has also been proposed which enables an external control terminal via a network to make the computer (referred to as the camera server) execute a control command to control the image pickup module of the camera or a control command to control the panning or tilting of the camera.
However, in either of the aforesaid systems, while the video camera is being panned or tilted by controlling the panhead, if an image is picked up with a normal shutter speed of {fraction (1/60)} sec of an image pickup device such as a CCD, a motion blur will occur in the picked-up image, so that each single point on a subject may be recorded on several pixels.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and its object is to provide a system which predicts the extent of an image motion blur from the rotating speed of a panhead and prevents occurrence of the image motion blur on the basis of this prediction.
To achieve the above-described object, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a camera control system capable of controlling an image pickup direction of a video camera, which system comprises varying command inputting means for inputting a command to vary the image pickup direction of the video camera, varying means for varying the image pickup direction of the video camera on the basis of the command inputted by the varying command inputting means, speed inputting means for inputting a variation speed at which to vary the image pickup direction of the video camera, calculating means for calculating a shutter speed of the video camera the image pickup direction of which is being varied by the varying means, on the basis of the variation speed inputted by the speed inputting means, and shutter speed control means for controlling the shutter speed of the video camera the image pickup direction of which is being varied by the varying means, on the basis of the shutter speed of the video camera calculated by the calculating means.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera control system capable of controlling an image pickup direction of a video camera, which system comprises varying command inputting means for inputting a varying command to vary the image pickup direction of the video camera, varying means for varying the image pickup direction of the video camera at a predetermined variation speed on the basis of the varying command inputted by the varying command inputting means, calculating means for calculating a shutter speed of the video camera the image pickup direction of which is being varied by the varying means, on the basis of the predetermined variation speed, and shutter speed control means for controlling the shutter speed of the video camera the image pickup direction of which is being varied by the varying means, on the basis of the shutter speed of the video camera calculated by the calculating means.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control method for a camera control system capable of controlling an image pickup direction of a video camera, which method comprises a varying command inputting step of inputting a varying command to vary the image pickup direction of the video camera, a varying step of varying the image pickup direction of the video camera on the basis of the varying command inputted by said varying command inputting step, a speed inputting step of inputting a variation speed at which to vary the image pickup direction of the video camera, a calculating step of calculating a shutter speed of the video camera the image pickup direction of which is being varied by said varying step, on the basis of the variation speed inputted by said speed inputting step, and a shutter speed control step of controlling the shutter speed of the video camera the image pickup direction of which is being varied by said varying step, on the basis of the shutter speed of the video camera calculated by said calculating step.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control method for a camera control system capable of controlling an image pickup direction of a video camera, which method comprises a varying command inputting step of inputting a varying command to vary the image pickup direction of the video camera, a varying step of varying the image pickup direction of the video camera at a predetermined variation speed on the basis of the varying command inputted by the varying command inputting step, a calculating step of calculating a shutter speed of the video camera the image pickup direction of which is being varied by the varying step, on the basis of the predetermined variation speed, and a shutter speed control step of controlling the shutter speed of the video camera the image pickup direction of which is being varied by the varying step, on the basis of the shutter speed of the video camera calculated by the calculating step.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a storage medium which stores an operation processing program for a camera control system capable of controlling an image pickup direction of a video camera, the storage medium allowing the camera control system to execute the following operation processing: varying the image pickup direction of the video camera on the basis of an inputted varying command to vary the image pickup direction of the video camera, calculating a shutter speed of the video camera the image pickup direction of which is being varied, on the basis of an inputted variation speed of the image pickup direction of the video camera, and controlling the shutter speed of the video camera the image pickup direction of which is being varied, on the basis of the calculated shutter speed of the video camera.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a storage medium which stores an operation processing program for a camera control system capable of controlling an image pickup direction of a video camera, the storage medium allowing the camera control system to execute the following operation processing: varying the image pickup direction of the video camera at a predetermined variation speed on the basis of an inputted varying command, calculating a shutter speed of the video camera the image pickup direction of which is being varied, on the basis of the predetermined variation speed, and controlling the shutter speed of the video camera the image pickup direction of which is being varied, on the basis of the calculated shutter speed of the video camera.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.